If you can afford a little post Christmas giving, please consider making a donation to Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary. Cedarhill provides refuge for exotic and domestic cats, and is a non profit, 501(c) charity.

On December 27th, Cedarhill suffered a devastating fire. They lost the entire building that houses their laundry and medical facilities, but they also lost the housing for their senior domestic cats, and every single one of the seniors that were housed there. I can’t even imagine the emotional pain this must have caused them.

On Thursday morning, December 27, at approximately 6:30 am, the Senior Cat House at Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary, Inc. burst into flames. The house went up in flames so fast that the cats didn’t have a chance to get out….two managed to escape, but 45 of my beautiful senior babies perished in the fire. My grief is beyond words as I sit here at my desk and look out at the burned ruins smoldering in the rain.

The double-wide for the seniors was more than just their home. It housed the laundry facility, all of the bedding for the entire sanctuary as well as over $3,000 in desperately needed medication and medical supplies and much more. Cedarhill is in a state of emergency and urgently needs financial donations to help replace the lost supplies and equipment. More importantly, funding is needed to clean-up and rebuild a new home for senior cats awaiting a second chance.

Here’s a newspaper article on the fire, and the clean up and recovery efforts –

Officials assessing cause of fire that destroyed 48 cats

By Garthia Elena Burnettgburnett@cdispatch.comVolunteers at the Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary are reaching out to the community for help after a Thursday morning fire destroyed the trailer previously serving as the home for their senior domestic cats.

The fire started at about 6:30 Thursday morning. It took nearly six hours to completely put out the blaze. By then, the entire building was ravaged, and only two of the 50 cats, ages 11 and up, escaped. The bodies of the other 48 later were recovered by firefighters.Despite taking time to mourn, Craig and others manning the haven for rescued animals must press on.

“We still have 250 more animals out here that we need to take care of,” she said. “And once we get this place rebuilt, we’ll have 50 more cats to take care of.”

Workers hope to re-open a new home for cats, but they need donations.

The non-profit organization is funded completely by donations.

“We have about 1,800 donors that have supported us for a number of years from all over the country,” said Craig.

Among the sanctuary’s needs is a new doublewide trailer.

“There’s absolutely nothing left,” Craig said of the cats’ former home.

Cedarhill also needs volunteers to help in cleanup efforts and money to rebuild.

Cedarhill was the first sanctuary to be accredited by the Association of Sanctuaries and currently houses more than 300 animals, including 12 tigers, five lions, four cougars, two bobcats, one wolf, about 200 domestic cats, 30 dogs and six horses.

The sanctuary was founded in 1990 to serve as caretaker for abandoned, abused, homeless and neglected exotic and domestic felines.

If you can help Cedarhill, donations can be mailed to:

Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary
144 Sanctuary Loop
Caledonia, MS 39740

Call Stephanie Cash at (662) 549-3261 for more information or to volunteer.